Hmmm, maybe its a map for 3-4 players games, huh? Ok, in this case, 32 countries at least (36 is also a good number...)

See, those countries in Ireland / Scotland are big and can be splitted... In the other hand, you cant put both name and number in a territory as small as London (make it a little bigger). You should also think about number of continents: if the map is for a lower number of players, maybe 5 continents are fine. No need for a gigantic continent as Asia here. Put 2 minor continents, one medium, and two major, that will be our Europe and North America. No reason for bonuses greater than 5, too.

Hmm, I don't think there is a general formula. You have to go with your guts. But in general you have to keep in mind the number of countries in the continent, the number of entry points, the number of different continent accessible and the linearity of the continent. Best way to go is to look at the classic map. Try to figure out which of your continent is closest to which of those and try to match. Then you tweak a little. Doesnt garantee something good, specially if you decide to go for a different kind of balance in your map (classic: 2 small 1 medium, 2 large, 1 humongous). Thats why its important to discuss the maps a lot before they go online.

... Thanks for that. We'll hammer the bonuses out after I somehow squeeze 42 "countries" into this map. The names of these places in the British Isles are extraordinarily long in many cases. I'm bypassing those and using the names of other, less lengthy region names, which are located in the general proximity. And no doubt players who hail from the Islands will have much to say about its inaccuracy in this regard.

Country dispersion: 11, 7, 7, 7, 5, 5... pretty different, but I like it. You will need some non-crossing borders, as I added in my Brazil map. Because the number of border countries arent balanced, specially in Wales, see:

Continent - # countries - # of border countries - (my suggestions)
Gray - 5 - 1 (Oceania!! - bonus: 2)
Yellow - 5 - 5 (number of borders should be 3 at maximum, maybe a barrier between Powys / Gwent and Shropshire / Cheshire can help you; bonus: 3, with 3 border countries)
Brown - 7 - 3 (Africa!! - bonus: 3)
Pink - 7 - 5 (Europe!! - bonus: 5; ps: it can be attacked from 7 places, so maybe some barriers, too)
Green - 7 - 2 (very easy to hold; one more connection is good, maybe between Leinster and Gwynedd, or another, its only connect a country of Ireland to a country of another continent that is already a border country; bonus: 3, with 3 border countries)
Blue - 11 - 6 (very difficult to hold, and this is the idea, I know; I suggest you block attack routes from other continents to Lincolnshire and Shropshire; there will be 4 border countries, and bonus of 6 is fine)

Cant wait to play... the art is fine too, but I liked much more the first shield. Thats it!

1: Are some of the territories too small to be playable? In your opinion? I'm trying to imagine that circular text BG stuck over all these territories...

2: Anybody from the UK looking at this map might might be laughing, thinking, "Hey! Those two aren't connected!" and, ""Hey!, ***** isn't nearly that large!", etc.... My answer to that is, TRY fitting the words, "Staffordshire", or "Carmarthenshire" (for example) on a one and a half centimeter space! IS it yet playable, even with a few geograhic "allowances"?

I was wondering about this. One of the challenges is creating spaces that are going to be large enough to fit text AND a number onto. Here are my suggestions, do with them what you will.

Divide Highlands into North and South, giving you a total of 43.
"Unroll" Meath's western border, so that it connects with Galway. This will give you adequate room for a marker.
Move Gwent's name to the left a bit, and Devon's should go up or down.
Remove the border between Somerset and Dorset, bringing your total back down to 42. You decide which name stays. Uncurl London's Southwestern border so that it borders with Sussex.
Skew Durham's southern border southwest, so that it touches the easternmost point of Westmorland's border.
You'll probably also have to move the text of Cumberland a bit.

1) Remember, names dont need be in the center of the country. If it helps you, put name on the corner.
2) Use a smaller font for some names (you did it already, but some could be really smaller).
3) Put the name in the sea, near the coast of the country.
4) Change some borders... but dont exaggerate...
5) If nothing works, put the name with a color we can read under the text background; however, this is the worst option.

You will really have a problem with Somerset / Dorset. You can put Dorset name (or number) at the sea... bu Somerset will need a part of Devon Territory. London can take a part of Hampshire, or you can write its name in the sea (same as Durham). Write Gwent name at the corner of the territory. More problems??